Telecommunications system and method

摘要

A telecommunications system provides a facility for mobile nodes to communicate internet protocol packets via a plurality of mobile access networks. The telecommunications system includes a resource manager for determining whether a mobile node should be affiliated with one of the mobile access networks. The resource manager comprises a loading monitor, a loading predictor and an access controller. The loading monitor determines one or more loading conditions of the mobile access network which result in an unacceptable quality of service for the communication of internet protocol packets to and from at least one mobile node as a result of communications sessions being provided to one or more of the mobile nodes, which are affiliated with the mobile access network. The loading predictor determines a predicted loading condition for the mobile access network as a result of a mobile node becoming affiliated with the mobile access network, the predicted loading condition being determined from the current loading conditions of the mobile access network and an additional loading condition associated with the mobile node becoming affiliated with the mobile access network. The access controller compares the predicted loading condition if the mobile node were to become affiliated with the mobile access network, with the loading conditions which have been determined as resulting in an unacceptable quality of service to one or more of the mobile nodes affiliated with the mobile access network. The access controller also determines whether the mobile node should become affiliated with the mobile access network depending upon whether the affiliation would cause an unacceptable quality of service to the mobile node or to one or more of the currently affiliated mobile nodes. A network controlled hand-over architecture is therefore provided in which a network entity is able to acquire information about different networks, and to make decisions about whether or not a particular hand-over from a current network to a candidate network should happen. In this way, the hand-over decision can be made such that the experienced quality of service in the target network after the hand-over will be acceptable.